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Buying an M2 Mac mini? Watch this FIRST!

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This will be my last Mac mini buying guide for a while, but it’s also the most important for anyone who is totally confused about which M2 Mac mini to buy. Let’s get into everything you need to know before buying!

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CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro
00:50 – Trend Micro
02:10 – You’ll need more stuff
03:41 – Don’t be tempted by the Mac Studio
04:23 – Two options
05:54 – Bluetooth problems?
07:00 – You don’t need that

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37 Comments

  3. Geht auch mit kat5, habe ich extra mal gestestet. so habe ich auch nur kat 6, an einem cysco Switch, letztendlich ist die länge ausschlaggebend, in unserem Haus ist kein NW Kabel länger als 50M / bis auch die Glasfaser Verbindungen der Switche ( das sind 50m Ringer ) und dem Mac mini.

  7. Hi, I have a minimal 2012 which is at the point where it won't upgrade IOS anymore. I defiantly want a new one. I will be looking to learn how to edit videos in caplet as I am interested in making videos / reels for social media. Also I want to use it to make music on Ableton. Will the M2 at £849.00 be sufficient enough to do this. Or would you advise the M2Pro at £1,399.00. Many thanks. Advice welcome please.

  8. That was a fantastic straightforward review. Sick and tired of the reviewers trying to out-tech other reviewers, leaving those of us who just want uncomplicated advice/suggestions mystified and unsatisfied. Well done!

  9. I plan to buy the Mac Mini in the next five years to replace my Intel I-Mac (27-inch, 32 RAM, AMD Radeon 580 RX). I'll get the basic version and add external storage for additional space.

  13. Hi Mark,

    If I had the means to do just ONE upgrade. Which would you recommend?

    Upgrading the RAM/SSD?

    Use case: emails, YouTube, Microsoft office, banking.

    I’m trying to future proof for the next 5 years when I assume kids will have assignments that require some computer work. Pls advice. Many thanks!

  15. I have approx £650 to spend on a new computer which I will use predominantly for Bitwig & Studio One.
    For that I can buy a Geekom a7 or similar mini PC with a powerful ryzen, 32gig of Ram and 1tb drive.

    I appreciate the unified memory thing but will the base Mac Mini do what I need.
    I also appreciate the Mac will be quieter too which is important to me but I need enough oompfhh primarily.

    Ta

  17. thanks for the info its great. I currently own an M1 iMac 8gb 256 which was great until I upgraded my camera to a fuji XT5 which produces 40mp raw files. Then this M1 chip cannot handle these at all, it crawls. It can spend 30 seconds opening a file. Im hugely disappointed as Mac inferred that the M1 chip could handle photo editing easily. If I bought an M2 Mac mini 16gb and use the iMac as a monitor in your opinion would this be a good machine for my needs.?

  20. I’m confused in which one to buy , I found a 2017 3ghz dual core i5 iMac with 8gb of ram for $500 , and there is also the new Mac mini m2 8gb ram for $600, im making music that use plugins for effects, which one would be faster and better?

  24. I currently am using a iMac 27" (Late 2015) with 16 GB RAM, 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 and 1 TB Storage. I am constantly dealing with the colorful circle always spinning when going from one web page to the next or even opening emails and any other tasks. Which Mac Mini would be better in eliminating these issues for me the Mac Mini M2 or the M2 Pro or should I wait for the Mac Mini M3?

  26. Great review and tips! I am a graphic designer and only use the Adobe suite applications. I have a 27 inch mac at work and am looking to buy the M2 mac mini for home. I am about to retire and will still do the occasional freelance job. I still want some performance which is why I am looking at the Mac mini and a non-apple monitor. At the Apple shop a salesperson was pushing the Mac Studio but do I really need it? After watching your review I am confident that the M2 mac mini should be enough for me. Mark, would you agree?

  28. Hi Mark! I’m getting into music producing and I’ve really been thinking about getting a Mac Studio for a dell computer.

    What are your thoughts? Should I just get an IMac computer instead and get a Mac mini?

  29. My wife needs a new computer for the house. I am thinking of buying a base level Mac mini M2 with least memory and storage (or maybe upgade to 16GB). I will give my wife my Mac M1 MacBook Air and put the new Mini M2 down in my office. So the mini is for me, to free up the MBP m1 for my wife. I have a MBP15 M1pro that I use as my hard work laptop. I've always love the design and value of the Mac Mini and am excited to add one more. I have monitors and keyboards already. The new Mini m2 will be doing programming Python/Docker, databases per virtualized project. I also run Apple Logic on a Solid State Logic SSL2+ or other audio interface to track and mix homemade audio or video. I also make heavy use of ethernet and/or wifi. I am a week away from a decision. I think this MBA m1 (16GB mem) is more than enough computer for her needs. I love it. It runs all the stuff above pretty fast. I think I will love the mini with an m2. I'm on this train to the end!

  30. Looking at getting the m2 mini soon…..when I pull it out of the box to setup, do I have to connect a wired keyboard and mouse to get onto MacOS or can I use my Bluetooth ones straight away?

  33. im diving in to the full apple experience. i switched to iPhone 13 pro max,, just got a ipad pro m2. now im looking to get a mini, should i wait for the m3. im not a content creator

  36. Pondering the purchase of a base Mac Mini M2 with 256 GB storage and 24GB RAM. By the time I make a decision the Mac Mini M3 will be out. Actually, that might be the best time to buy the Mac Mini M2…